Fertilizer



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER 0. SNELLING, 0F ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORl TO TROJAN POWDER COMPANY, OF ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar, 21, 1922.

NEW YORK.

FERTILIZER.

No Drawing.

. nitrate and potassium nitrate, are soluble in water, as are all inorganic nitrates, and their use in the soil involves loss in the run off, considerable portions being carried away by ground water and by rains before becoming available for furnishing food for the plants. So far as I am aware, it has not heretofore been. proposed to furnish nitrates to the soil in a form which, while rendering them insoluble, leaves them free to be acted upon by the humic acids in the soil and by the acid 1n the rootlets of the plants, and thereby to yield to the plants the ingredients useful as plant food.

I have discovered that the nitration of organic bodies, such, for example, as the carbohydrates, produces nitrates, which are water insoluble, but which in the presence of the soil break up, with the production of bodies which are highly advantageous to the plant growth. When employed as a fertilizer or ingredient of a fertilizer, these nitrates being insoluble in water, are not immediately dissolved and carried off in large measure by rains or ground water, but are very slowly decomposed by the humic acids produced by the rootlets of the plant, thus givin the fertilizing properties when require and at the exact point required. The fertilizer maybe added to the soil several weeks before the seeds are planted, if this is necessary, and even under these circumstances, a large part of the fertilizer will re main in insoluble form, and its fertilizing value will thus be retained in spite of rains and the'pasSage of ground water through Application filed April 18, 1919. Serial No. 290,973.

the soil. As the rootlets of the plants come in contact with the fertilizer, however, the acid in the root tips and the root hairs, has the ability to decompose the organic nitrate and evolve the oxides of nitrogen. The remainder of the fertilizing material, which does not come in contact with the plant root lets, decomposes only with extreme slowness, and for a period of months undergoes slow decomposition with the evolution of fertilizing ingredients as described. Furthermore, in decomposing, the organic nitrate yields not only the components of the nitric acid radical, but other fertilizing agents as well. For example, nitrated starch used in the manner described, will yield in addition to the components of the nitric acid radical,

the components of the starch radical, these being very excellent fertilizing agents in a form available for plant food.

While I have mentioned nitrated starch as an illustration of an organic nitrate having the characteristics mentioned, other nitrated carbohydrates may be employed, as for example nitrolignose, nitro-cellulose, and other nitric acid esters of carbohydrates; nor do I wish to confine myself in the broadest aspect of my invention to nitrated carbohydrates, as nitrates may be produced by the action of nitric acid on other organic bodies, which nltrates would be water insoluble and yet subject to decomposition by the humic acids in the soil.

In treating the ,carbohydrat'es to produce the nitrated bodies for my purpose, known methods of nitration may be employed, and I do not wish to limit myself to any particular degree of nitration. Ordinarily the n1- .trate will be employed as but one of a number of ingredients going to make up a complete commercial fertilizer contaming in addition, for example, phosphates and p0- tash, as is the practice in fertilizer manufacstarch, although in itself water insoluble,

can 'be rendered completely soluble'in water by the addition of ammonium nitrate, and

as will be understood the degreeof solubility and period of decomposition can be regulated according to the proportion of the accelerating'agent employed. For very slowaction, the nitrated starch will be used with out the catalyzing agent; for relatively quick action such that the fertilizing agent will be available for plant food'in say from four to six weeks from the time the fertilizer is placed in the soil, enough of a saturated solution of ammonium nitrate should be employed to moisten all of the nitro-s'tarch particles; for-slower action, a weaker ammonium nitrate solution may be employed, a

, solution of .15 to 20% saturation, for example, causing the nitrated body to be relatively slow in decomposition. the mixture of nitro-starch and ammonium nitrate, from 5 to 20% may be ammonium nitrate. In. specifying ammonium nitrate as an accelerating agent, I do not wish to be limited to that, as other agents are available, for example, sodium-nitrate and alkalies, such for example, as lime.

. ,Not only can I accelerate the decomposi tion of] an organic nitrate, as explained,

but I can also render the fertilizing action slower, by the addition to the nitrated body of a neutral body, such for example, as limefood.

i trated body itself, but by the addition there It will be seen that by the treatment hereinabove described, aseries of nitrate fertilizers can be repared ran 'ng from those in which the ertilizin e ect can be very quick by;-reason of t e reduction of the insoluble nitrated body, to water. soluble nitro-' gen containing form, in advance of placing it in the soil, to those in which the fertilizing action can .be made very slow .not only by reason of the water insoluble character of the 'nito of an agent for delaying the action of the h humic acids the soil; Y

- I claim 1. A fertilizer comprising a nitrated carbohydrate and a catalyzer. 2. A fertilizer comprising a nitrated carbohydrate and a body havlngthe chemical drate to water-soluble form. I

-3. A fertilizercomprising a nitrated carbohydrate and an agent for accelerating deeifect of changing said nitrated carbohycomposition of said nitrated caimohydrate in the soil withevolution of ingredients available for plant food..

4. A fertilizer comprising a nitrated carbohydrate and-ammomum nitrate. 1

5. A fertilizer comprising nitrated starch and ammoniumnitrate. 1 r

6. In the method of manufacturing fertichangmg water-insoluble-nitrated carbohydrate to a water-soluble nitrogen containing product by the addition thereof of ammonium nitrate. 7. In the method of manufacturin fertilizing nitrates, the ste drate to a water-soluble nitrogen containing 'lizing 'nitrates the step which consists in" which consists in changing water-insolub e nitrated carbohyroduct by the addition thereto of a catayzer.

8. The method of treating-the soil to fertilize the same, which consists in the changing therein of a water-insoluble nitrated carbohydrate into water-soluble fertilizing ingredients. 'Y

9. The process of fertilizing soils which consists in supplying thereto a nitrated carbohydrate insoluble in water but susceptible of disintegration into components useful for plant food bythe action of agents in the soil.

1O. The process of fertilizing soils which consists in supplying thereto a nitrated carbohydrate insoluble 1n water, and decompos-,-

ing said body into water soluble components by the action of humic acids in the soil.

'11. The process of fertiliz'ingsoils, which includes the step of supplying-to. the soil a.

nitrated carbohydrate.

12. The process of fertilizing SOllS which includes the step of supplying to the soil WALTER o. SNELLING'. l

nitro-starch.v 

